The 1989 Yugoslav final in Novi Sad was a very tight affair, where the last set of points decided the winner. Nerve-wracking until the bitter end.
Massimo Savic, one of the big favourites was very narrowly beaten into second place by a bunch of newcomers nobody would have considered as real competition. To add insult to injury, something must have gone wrong with the connection to the green room: once the final vote is cast, Massimo looks very happy and obviously thinks he won.
Massimo Savic - Plavi anđeo (Yugoslavia NF 1989)
The winner was a happy little bagatelle, straight out of the early 60's, performed by the hobby band Riva from Zadar. However, with a bit of polish and some good work, they managed to turn their song into quite a catchy little number.
And in a most unexpected twist of fate (probably largely due to a very favourable draw), Riva emerged as the surprise winner in Lausanne. The first and only victory for Former Yugoslavia.
Riva - Rock Me (Yugoslavia 1989)
What if Massimo would have won in Novi Sad? Would he have managed to secure a Yugoslav victory as well? There is no doubt in my mind that he would have scored pretty poorly, but who would have won then?
Probably one of the other up-tempo numbers on offer, given how few of them were around this year. But which one? Denmark? Finland? Or who?
Every Yugoslavian selection was followed by a scandal. Every state had a jury wich voted for the song from the state they are. This year was not an exeption. Only favorit in "Jugovizija" who represented Yugoslavia was Zdravko Colic in 1973. with the song "Gori vatra" (The fire is burning).
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